Civilian corps member meets FEMA director

Lexington resident Shane Miller, 23, has decided to dedicate 10 months of his life to national service through the National Civilian Community Corps.

BY SHARON MYERSThe Dispatch

Lexington resident Shane Miller, 23, has decided to dedicate 10 months of his life to national service through the National Civilian Community Corps.He is serving at the Federal Emergency Management Agency headquarters in Washington, D.C., as a congressional affairs specialist, which involves making sure crucial information is passed to governmental agencies and individuals. Last week, Miller and his team had the chance to sit down with FEMA Administrator Craig Fugate and discuss topics that were important to the corps and the future of FEMA. Fugate gave the team insight into the way the agency is run, the amount of effort that is put into the operation and the creation of FEMA Corps."I have had the chance to meet several people in government, and I felt that Administrator Fugate really connects with the people, his staff and the FEMA Corps on a basic level," Miller said in a press release. "He made me feel like I was talking to an old friend."Miller is one of 160 men and women selected to perform 10 months of national service as a member of the 20th Class of the NCCC Atlantic Region. FEMA and the Corporation for National and Community Service have launched a partnership to establish a unit of 1,600 service corps members within AmeriCorps NCCC, which is solely devoted to disaster preparedness, response and recovery. He said he decided to spend the next months focusing on national service because he wants to give back to his community."It goes back to all the people who helped me from high school through college," Miller said. "Everyone has helped me, from the president of (Davidson County Community) college, to the government, to my parents who have done good things with their lives. I want to follow in their footsteps."Miller graduated from Ledford High School before attending DCCC, where he obtained an associate's degree in general education and paralegal technology. He plans on studying for his Bachelor of Arts degree in political science with a focus on governmental studies at Ashford University in Iowa. Miller said he plans on enlisting in the military before pursuing a career in environmental law and possibly politics. He said his father, First Sgt. Dennis B. Miller, was in the military for 26 years. Miller gained his desire to serve the public and to later enlist in the U.S. Army by witnessing his father’s dedication and service. “He is an Iraq veteran, and he has gone all over the world on humanitarian missions,” Miller said. “I struggled a lot with deciding who I wanted to be, and I came to that decision because of the example he, and my mother (Jessica Miller), have set for me.”AmeriCorps NCCC members, who are citizens between 18 and 24 years old, serve a 10-month service period and are assigned to one of five campuses in Denver, Colo., Sacramento, Calif., Perry Point, Md., Vicksburg, Miss., and Vinton, Iowa. They are trained in CPR, first aid, public safety and other skills before they are assigned to service projects throughout the region.Miller has gone on several service projects since beginning the program in August, including the flooding in Colorado. He said he was touched by the human component involved in disaster relief."We were able to help a man get out of his house and helped move debris," Miller said. "You could tell it meant so much to them, even if it was something as simple as helping a little girl get her favorite doll. It brought some sense of relief to them."NCCC Corps members are eligible for the Segal AmeriCorps Education Award upon successful completion of the program. The dollar amount of a full-time award is tied to the maximum amount of the U.S. Department of Education's Pell Grant, which is a maximum of $5,645.Miller plans on taking the skills he has learned through 10 months of national service and use it as he goes forward in his life and career."I feel like I have learned so much in these six months," Miller said. "It gives you a different perspective of our county and how little it takes to help. If everybody would help three people in a month, it would make our world and our lives a better place."Sharon Myers can be reached at 249-3981, ext, 228 or at sharon.myers@the-dispatch.com.

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